There Are Buyers For U.S. Homes: Canadians

Emboldened By Surging Loonie And Weak U.S. Market, Canadians Snap Up American Real Estate

(AP)  Two hours after his flight landed in Phoenix, Calgary resident Doug Farley already was cruising the city's vast stuccoed suburbs in search of the one attraction Canadians cannot seem to get enough of these days: cheap homes.

There are thousands of them here: almost new, unoccupied and dropping in value. The mortgage meltdown, combined with a surging Canadian currency, has Farley — and many of his countrymen — dreaming of winter golf on grass that's always green.

"My dollar's the same as your dollar, finally," Farley said, grinning as he peered through a pool fence at a sparsely-populated condominium complex in Chandler, a Phoenix suburb.

For moderate-income Canadians like Farley, the race is on to take advantage of the "loonie," which in September reached parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time since 1976. Many are combing the Internet for anxious American home sellers and looking with an investor's eye at the condos they rented while on vacation in sunbelt states.

"Now it's more than just the snowbird coming down and staying in a condo. It's people looking for business opportunity," said Frank Nero, president of the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County's economic development arm in south Florida.

Canadian condo-builder Solterra Group of Companies also is riding the surge in the Canadian economy as it plans to snatch large chunks of land in Las Vegas. Michael Bosa, the company's vice president for development and acquisition, said the loonie has bolstered his company's bids.

"We're looking now aggressively," Bosa said. "We think we'll see more opportunities in the next six to eight months."

In Arizona, Jason Sirockman of Edmonton, Alberta, said he watched as home owners flooded the market with 58,000 homes, more than twice the amount in 2005 when home values peaked.

Now is the time to buy, he said. Alberta, a three-and-a-half-hour flight from Phoenix, is experiencing a modern-day gold rush from booming work in its vast oil sands.

"Fifteen of my friends are on buying trips down here, and we're all cheap," Sirockman said. He brought his family to Scottsdale this month while he submitted a lowball all-cash offer for a three-bedroom home.

"I don't want to take advantage of a guy who's having trouble in the market and is losing his shorts," Sirockman said. "But I have no problem with a guy from California who bought on spec and has five houses in Arizona and never lived in them."

Single family homes and condos in the Phoenix metro area now sit an average of 99 days before getting sold. That's three times the wait for homes and four times the wait for condos compared with two years ago, according to the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.

The market has shifted totally in the buyer's favor, especially those offering cash, said Jeff Russell of Alberta. Last month, Russell snapped up a patio home next to a golf course in Scottsdale with a $299,000 check. It was listed at $463,000.

"I was actually going to come down here and buy a seven-series BMW because cars are ridiculously cheap here," he said. "But I discovered that, forget cars, houses are on deep discount. I could never get anything on a golf course as nice in Canada for this type of money."

Real estate agents in Phoenix, especially those with Canadian ties, are hustling to reach potential buyers up north while the American housing market and the U.S. dollar continue to slump.

Rick Morielli, a former real estate broker from Toronto, received his green card in November, posted a Canadian realty Web site, took out some newspaper ads in Canada, and already he has about a dozen clients looking for homes.

"There's a real 'Wow' factor here for Canadians," said Morielli, who now lives in Phoenix.

"When I take them to a brand new subdivision, and for $210,000 can get them four bedrooms, 2,000 square feet, all appliances, brand new, that's something they haven't been able to buy in Canada for 10 or 15 years. In my opinion, everyone should be buying now."

Mark Dziedzic, a former financial planner from Toronto, now sells homes full time in Arizona and holds seminars in Canada to push the American housing market on fellow Canucks. Dziedzic said he's had to hire more staff at his office to keep up with the influx of Canadian investors.

"When (the Canadian dollar) hit $1.10, it really created a real buzz for Canadians, not only those looking to buy second homes but we're also seeing it from buying purely from an investment standpoint," Dziedzic said.

Still, with so many homes on the market, the interest by Canadians isn't about to fix the housing slump in Arizona, real estate consultant Elliott D. Pollack said.

"You have a massive oversupply in the face of a lower demand," Pollack said. "And you're going to have to work off those excess units. And to do that you'll need two or three years."

AP Business Writer Adrian Sainz contributed to this story.

[erasmus6]

"Thanks Tool..I will step up to the plate and say sorry. I like ye and others...here... " posted by MichelleM99


That is okay Michelle, with everyone jabbering back and forth a mile a minute it was probably hard to figure out what we were talking about. And the reason for that is because we were all talking NONSENSE.:)

[erasmus6]

"just had to have the last word did you not? " posted by radiob


YESSSSS!!!

[radiob-2009]

That is only because you live in the U.S.:)




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Posted by erasmus6

just had to have the last word did you not?

[michellem99-2009]

Thanks Tool..I will step up to the plate and say sorry. I like ye and others...here...

[erasmus6]

"My life insurance does not cover this." posted by radiob


That is only because you live in the U.S.:)

[radiob-2009]

King Abdullah is adopting a new platform -- "Compassionate Barbarisn"


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Posted by briannorwood

Good one LOL.

[rushman71]

Run for your lives!!! We''re being attacked by the killer Canadians!!! The Canucks are coming!!! The Canucks are coming!!!

[radiob-2009]

NO, you can''''t close yours eyes, that will be your punishment.


"Can I have a last wish first?"


NO, you need to buck up and quit whining.




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Posted by erasmus6


My life insurance does not cover this.

[erasmus6]

When I said that I would have bamboo and a bottle brush with me, I forgot the most important thing, TURPENTINE!:)


I noticed that Abdoul suddenly disappeared. Do you think I scared him away???

[erasmus6]

"Writers strike, can we take it on the road?" posted by radiob

Hahaha, I don''t see why not.


"Have you had your shots? I can close my eyes, Right?"

NO, you can''t close yours eyes, that will be your punishment.


"Can I have a last wish first?"


NO, you need to buck up and quit whining.

[erasmus6]

"there was no insult in all of this. from radiob, or myself." posted by Toolmangler

I never thought there was.


"To whoever said that I didn''''t have a sense of humor, BITE ME!:) Was it you, radiob?" posted by ME


I was making a point. Someone somewhere along the line said that I was lacking in a sense of humor whereas LloydBest1 thought we were all pretty funny, including ME, so I was just pointing that fact out.

[radiob-2009]

Can I have a last wish first?

[radiob-2009]

To whoever said that I didn''''t have a sense of humor, BITE ME!:) Was it you, radiob?



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Posted by erasmus6 a


Have you had your shots? I can close my eyes, Right?

[radiob-2009]

I would like to thank erasmus6, ToolMangler, abdul_pasha and radiob for one of the most hilarious and entertaining exchanges I have read on a thresd in ages. Hope you folks enjoyed it as much as I did.


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Posted by LloydBest1

Writers strike, can we take it on the road?

[toolmangler-2009]

To whoever said that I didn''''t have a sense of humor, BITE ME!:) Was it you, radiob?
Posted by erasmus6 at 09:42 PM : Dec 16, 2007


Maybe I was wrong and you didn''t get ''it'' after all. there was no insult in all of this. from radiob, or myself. I thought michelle was the only one that was confused about what was going on.

[erasmus6]

"I would like to thank erasmus6, ToolMangler, abdul_pasha and radiob for one of the most hilarious and entertaining exchanges I have read on a thresd in ages. Hope you folks enjoyed it as much as I did." posted by LloydBest1


To whoever said that I didn''t have a sense of humor, BITE ME!:) Was it you, radiob?

[erasmus6]

"...even ersamus6 got it." posted by ToolMangler

And what is that supposed to mean?

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by LloydBest1 at 08:51 PM : Dec 16, 2007


Don''t worry, there was nothing meant but fun, michelle99. As long as I have been posting here, you should know that by now, even ersamus6 got it.

[michellem99-2009]

NO THANK YE FOR THE LAST FROM THAT LAD LLOYDBEST1.That was rude to joke over us Americans..

[lloydbest1]

"...I have read on a thresd in ages..."

Ah..THREAD....sorry. (*** keys keep moving around)